


Event Horizon

by MalikaiFlame



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Broken Bones, Earthquakes, Fear, Helplessness, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Klaus Hargreeves Whump, Near Death Experiences, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:01:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22325242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalikaiFlame/pseuds/MalikaiFlame
Summary: What if Klaus hadn't moved fast enough when the Academy collapsed?A rewrite of 1.10 "The White Violin" where Klaus gets trapped under debris.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 28
Kudos: 691





	Event Horizon

[ e·vent ho·ri·zon ](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/event-horizon)

_ noun  _ ASTRONOMY

noun:  **event horizon** ; plural noun:  **event horizons**

The boundary around a black hole on and within which no matter or radiation can escape.

A point of no return.

\-------

Klaus threw his knitting to the side in frustration, his mind unable to focus. His body may be in his room, watching Ben pace, but his mind was in the past, in the basement with his sister.

Luther had been so… ambivalent. Cruel, even. Klaus had always known that his brother was a bit more on the objective side, to put it nicely. A cold-heart that had been cultivated from years of emotional trauma. Klaus didn’t need Luther to explain the tragic backstory, he had lived it too. Klaus had long gotten used to it, and was pretty good at brushing it off; giving a half-hearted side comment when Luther said something a bit too insensitive. A joke or jab when Luther pushed a little too hard. Because jokes and jabs were easier to dismiss than the actual issue, and they were much easier to say than actually admitting that Klaus felt hurt. And Klaus would go as far as to say that he typically found Luther’s rougher edge endearing. Fuck, Klaus wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t go around hitting things too if he had the strength too. For every time Luther would manhandled him, there was a time when Klaus was able to retaliate with word-play or ridicule. Because even though Klaus could never beat him in physical ability, Luther could never beat him in shamelessness. It was almost too easy, and Klaus knew there had to be a trade-off. It was only fair.

Klaus laughed slightly, remembering their tiff from just the morning before. Klaus could see Luther’s flustered face perfectly, his poor mind becoming bombarded and overworked as it tried to explain away the naked woman sleeping in his bed. And he had popped his cherry too. Klaus had never felt more pleasure in his life, watching “Mister Big and Bad” squirm. Prime content. The ultimate playing card. Klaus couldn’t have asked for a juicer advantage if he had set it all up. He would have the upper hand on Luther for the rest of their lives.

With the dire situation they all found themselves in, the memory now felt laced with sadness. Klaus looked over at Ben, who hadn’t said anything since they separated from their siblings in the basement, leaving Vanya trapped and betrayed.

_ Fuck, what are we going to do now? _

Klaus’ thoughts were suddenly drawn to the present, a dull thud shaking the walls. Klaus took out his earbuds and looked over at Ben in confusion, finding the same expression mirrored back at him. Ben shrugging his shoulders. After a few moments, Klaus put his earbuds back in, settling back down, attributing the building apprehension to his shot nerves. Until another burst of sound came, louder than before, making the various trinkets around his room reverberate and jingle slightly. 

Klaus jumped out of bed then, the unease sitting in his gut rising to catch in his throat. Although he doesn’t explain why, he knew this was going to be bad. He had long stopped questioning the instincts that were weaved into the fabric of his being, learning to trust them with their rather impressive track record of saving his ass.

Running into the hallway, relief washed over Klaus when his gaze landed on Pogo, although temporary. 

“Are those explosions coming from--”

“Vanya.” Pogo finished, cutting Klaus off. “We need to get to safety. Outside of the Academy.”

Klaus blanched, his mind fighting to process what Pogo was saying. _ Vanya. _ He vaguely registered Diego gripping his arm, pulling him from his daze. His mind still reeling, he could still register the clear and present danger. His body took over, ready to chase after his brother. His mind would have time to catch up later, but now, there was only one thing he needed to understand: that they needed to get out  _ now _ .

Luther looked at him. “Find Mom.”

“Yeah.” Klaus breathed, and turned to chase after Diego.

**BANG**

Trying to keep up with his brother proved to be difficult, the thuds and vibrations had now graduated to crumbling ceilings and violent shaking. But his memories from earlier circled Klaus’ thoughts; a rumination he couldn’t shake, the scene playing on repeat. He should have fought Luther more. He should have made his disagreement more clear. He should have made sure Vanya knew he was on her side. That he knew that a cage looked like, and he knew what it was like to fear the powers you were cursed with. 

But instead, he took the coward’s way out. Like he always did. 

And now Vanya thought she was alone.

**BANG**

Klaus jumped backwards, narrowly missing a chunk of debris.  _ Where the hell she?  _ Klaus thought, looking around him. However, he didn’t stay still long, chasing after his brother, making sure he didn’t lose him.

**BANG. BANG** .

With urgency lacing his steps, Klaus started again, keeping Diego in view. Instead, there was another bang, this one strong enough to throw him off balance. Bracing himself, Klaus fell sideways, the wall catching him rather painfully. He looked up, the light fixtures flickering slightly before returning to normal.

Ben was also looking up, worry made clear on this face. “Klaus…”

“Yeah, I know.” he cut off, his urgency increasing even more.

“Where is she?” Diego called out to no one in particular. “Mom!”

Before Klaus could answer, something slammed down onto Klaus’ head, throwing him to the floor before he could think. Before he could recover, another piece of debris came crashing down, striking again. He felt like he was going he was going to black out, the pain ripping through his head. Then he heard a heavy thud, Diego collapsing next to him.

Bringing his hand to his head, Klaus looked up at the ceiling, crumbling and cracking above them. Horrified, Klaus shook his brother desperately.

“Diego!” Klaus shook harder, unable to look away from the ceiling. “Diego!”

Then he felt himself being dragged forward, getting out of the way just as it came crashing down. Klaus only spared a moment to imagine what would’ve happened if they had been pinned underneath before he looked to see who had saved them, only to find complete and utter bewilderment on Ben’s face. Klaus’ eyes widened. His brother looked just as shocked as he felt, both of them slowly processing the realization.

“Holy shit...”

Another blast pulled Klaus back into focus. He reached down to get Diego off the ground. “Come on, come on. Come on, Diego.” With every ounce of strength he had, he helped his brother off the floor. They could deal with whatever the hell that was later.

Dodging falling rocks left and right, the pair quickly made their way down the stairs attached to the side of the Academy. There had been many similarly thrilling, yet less terrifying times when Klaus had used this exit to sneak out at night. But now, all he could feel was fear, running down the steps and looking back to make sure Diego was still behind him. Once they got to the bottom, Diego stopped him.

“Hey. You just saved my life, man.” And before Klaus could respond, Diego pulled him into a tight hug, putting him face to face with Ben’s look of betrayal. All Klaus could do was shrug.

He could hear Diego yell into his ear, “Shit! Mom!”

Up in the window, they could see their mother. Klaus yelled up to her, hearing Diego doing the same, but the shaking became louder and louder, assaulting his senses.

“I’m coming for you!”

“No, Diego! Get back!” Without thinking, Klaus grabbed onto Diego’s shoulder and used every inch of strength he had to throw him backwards. 

Glass shattered around them and the earth shook, throwing Klaus to the ground. The only thing he had time to do before the Academy crumbled above him was curl into himself, hiding his head with his arms.

\-------

The ringing came long before his awareness did. Then a sharp pain in his side. He shifted slightly, a small cry escaping him. Slowly, Klaus tried to force his eyes open, only to find his surroundings hazy and unfocused, the pain in his side increasing significantly. Wincing, Klaus searched for the source, but instead he reeled his arm back after slamming into stone. He tried the other direction, only to be met by brick. He tried to move again, but the stone around him held firm. Through the haze in his mind, his situation was abundantly clear. Dread rose to his throat and coiled there tightly. He hadn’t moved fast enough, the memory of the Academy collapsing hitting him. He hadn’t gotten out of the way.

“Help!” Klaus tried to scream, but despite how hard he tried, it came out weak and quiet. 

He could see the light of the street a few feet above him. With resolve, he reached for the nearest ledge he could find. Gripping the edge, he tried to pull himself up, pushing past the pain as the concrete scraped against his side. He could feel his skin tearing, but he pushed as long as he could, until he realized he wasn’t going anywhere. 

“Fuck!” Klaus sobbed, cold terror slowly building, his situation starting to dawn on him. Throwing his arms underneath him, Klaus tried to pull himself up again, only to have his back slammed into rubble above him.

There was a voice. Klaus could barely hear it past the ringing in his ears.

“Klaus!”

Klaus tried to make sense of the sound through the cotton of his mind. God, his head was throbbing. Gingerly, he brought his hand to the side of his face, wincing at the contact. His hair felt slick. Klaus squinted, trying to focus on his fingers. Turning the substance over between them, he slowly realized that he was looking at blood.

“KLAUS! Answer me!”

He knew that voice. And it was further away that time.

“Diego!” His voice rising, hysteria building. “Help me! D--”

Dust flew into his lungs, the particles spurring a fit of coughing. Tears welled in his eyes as the coughing forced more grime into him. He tried to stop, but his body wasn’t listening anymore. His chest heaved, but only as far as it could go, being stopped too soon by rubble pinning him down; the hard edges jabbing into his sides. Klaus could feel his mind turning animalistic, fear replacing reason. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. Diego was so close and he couldn’t call out to him. He was going to die.

A shadow cast over him, the street light disappearing from view. His only thought: more debris had fallen, entrapping him in this concrete tomb. He was going to die and no one was going to find him. His one support gone, Klaus clawed at the rubble above him desperately, his breath coming out more and more short, getting caught in his throat as his panic started to strangle him.

“Klaus, you have to breathe!”

_ “Oh, yeah. That sounds like a brilliant idea!” _ Klaus scolded sarcastically. Of course his internal self was going to be completely unhelpful right now. He felt the walls around him closing in impossibly more, the little air he had being squeezed out of him.

“Klaus, come on! Listen to me!”

The realization hit him hard, temporarily giving him a moment of clarity. That voice… it wasn’t his own, and it wasn’t inside of his head. Looking up, he saw Diego, and he breathed out a short laugh. Relief crashed through him tumultuously.

“Diego! Diego, I’m stuck!” Klaus strained desperately, reaching for his brother. He jerked violently against the debris pinning him down, shaking a few rocks loose. He could hear the stone and brick slabs shifting above him. Panic ripped through Klaus’ lungs, tearing at his throat.

“You have to stop moving, Klaus!” Diego yelled back urgently. 

_ He’s not helping me. _

“I know you’re freaking out right now, but if you keep moving, you could make it worse.”

The hammering in his chest was making its way up to his ears. He was going to drown in it.

_ Not again. Not again.  _

_ Dad, please let me out! _

**Welcome back to the land of the living, Number Four.**

“Klaus, stop!” The urgency in Diego’s voice growing. “You’re making it unstable!”

_ Please, I want to go home. _

**Three more hours.**

“Klaus, focus on my breathing and do it with me. Can you do that?”

“ _ No! Please don’t leave me!” _

His father stood over him, his silhouette casting a dark shadow. The mausoleum doors creaked shut, trapping him in. He could feel the walls. They were laughing, their towering presence pushing down on him. They weren’t going to let him go.

“I’m not going to leave you.”

Klaus knew that voice… but… that… that didn’t make sense. Klaus scanned the carved angels and decrepit vaults, confusion overtaking him.  _ But Diego was never in the mausoleum…  _ He looked at the doors again. At the man. And it wasn’t his father.

“Diego?”

Diego clasped Klaus’ hand earnestly. “I swear I’m not going anywhere, but you need to listen to me.”

Reality started to come back to him, the ghosts of his past fading away, his mind shaking the memory.

“Please,” Klaus sobbed, relieved. “Please, you have to get me out!”

“I swear I will.” Diego asserted. “But you have to calm down.”

Klaus nodded wordlessly, forcing himself to take another deep, shaking breath. Clutching his brother’s hand, the slight embrace was his lifeline. He centered on the gentle, setting his breathing to the repetitive stroking of Diego’s thumb over the top of his hand. The motion stung slightly, his knuckles cut up and bloody, but it grounded him.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, but it slowly started to work. Intentionally, Klaus loosened his vice grip on Diego’s hand, thoughtfully making the rest of his body follow suit. His shoulders carefully uncoiled, and his lungs began to take deep, filling breaths. With it came a new clarity, fragile as it was.

There was a rumbling nearby, followed by a crack above him, sending a jolt through Klaus. His chest started to tighten again, and he could hear his breath starting to come out as wheezes. 

“No! Nope, keep breathing!” Diego yelled. “Don’t worry about that.”

“I’m trying!”

“I know you are.” Diego recognized. “And you’re almost there.”

Klaus nodded, focusing again on the repetitive feeling of Diego’s brush over his hand. Another crash came, but he tried to force it out of his mind. With a new resolve, he looked back up at his brother, nodding with determination.

Diego reached down with his other arm, grasping onto Klaus’ outstretched one. 

“You are going to get out.” he said, and Klaus believed him entirely.

Diego waited until Klaus was ready, gripping on another by their wrists, then Diego started to pull. Klaus’ skin dug into the jagged edges encasing him, scrapping painfully. Klaus bit his tongue, trying to push the pain out of his mind. He knew this wasn’t going to be pretty. He just had to deal with the pain. But then the strain reached his feet, and a sharp, unbelievable burn shot through him, making him gasp.

“Stop! Stop, stop, stop, wait!” Klaus pleaded.

Diego quit pulling instantly, fear riddling his face. “What is it?” Klaus could hear the alarm behind his words that he was trying to hold back, for his sake. “What’s wrong?”

“My foot’s really stuck.” Klaus tried to jerk his leg up again, the pain indescribable. “Diego, I can’t move it!”

“ _ Shit!”  _ Diego cursed under his breath. For the first time, Diego broke eye contact with him and scanned their surroundings, his mind fast at work and reassessing the situation. Klaus fought to keep back his rising despair. He knew what this meant for both of them. Diego was an asshole, but only out of self-defense. He needed something to protect the bleeding heart that he carried. And whenever Klaus was in trouble, he would bet all of the little money he had on Diego to be the one to be there. But this changed things, and there was no way Diego was going to be able to fix this one.

“Can you work it loose?” Diego clenched through his teeth.

Klaus only shook his head, barely able to meet his brother’s glare. “I can’t.” he choked.

“Come on, Klaus!” Diego growled, righteous anger overflowing behind his wet eyes. “You didn’t even try!”

“Yes, I did!” Klaus snapped back, wincing as his ribs slammed into stone.

“Try harder then.” Diego countered. “Because you are not about to quit…”

A sharp crack cut Diego off, his look of anger instantly replaced with dread. He only had a moment to look back at Klaus before a giant slab came crashing down in front of him. The last thing Klaus saw before his senses were taken over by searing pain was the look of utter panic on his brother’s face. 

Klaus hid his face, protecting it as best he could as he waited for the dust to settle, not trusting that the collapse was over. After several seconds, he tentatively opened his eyes, finding his arm now trapped above him, pinned.

_ Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck _

Klaus bit back a scream as he ripped his hand out from underneath the crushing rock, cradling it against his chest. Terrified of what he would see, he slowly looked down at his hand. His hand, covered in blood and ripped skin, was already starting to swell, his fingers bent in ways he knew they shouldn’t. Carefully, he tried to move his fingers, choking on a scream when he tried.

He vaguely heard voices above him.

“KLAUS!”

_ Diego. _

There was no way… No way Diego could ever move something that heavy. And even if he did, there was no way Klaus was going to be able to get his foot out. 

“KLAUS! FUCKING ANSWER ME!”

Instead of calling back, Klaus looked over at Ben. “Will you stay with me?” Klaus asked, the question catching in his throat.

His brother smiled at him tearfully, “What kind of stupid question is that?” earning him a resigned chuckle from Klaus. “Of course I’m staying.”

And in that moment, Klaus felt something he never would have expected to: peace. Despite his reputation for being a carefree and reckless soul, he had spent a lot of time thinking about how his life would end. Whether it would be spectacularly violent, following in Ben’s footsteps, or more subtle, and less heroic, overdosing in some alleyway. And, to Klaus’ surprise, finally having the answer to that question gave him closure he didn’t expect to get.

“Thank you.” Klaus whispered, and he let his body go lax, his head falling forward to rest on concrete. He couldn’t hear Diego anymore, his yelling having fallen silent. Klaus fought back tears at the thought. It was best not to drag this out, letting Diego still think there was a chance. Klaus had to let Diego leave. He knew it would be easier for him to believe the falling rock had gotten him, rather than the truth, which was that there was nothing Diego could do to help him. Absolutely nothing. And Klaus wanted that for Diego. If he ever did anything useful, it was to give Diego that.

The quiet started to set in. The fallen debris seemed to have landed where it was going to, settling into place. Holding his injured hand to his chest, Klaus closed his eyes, trying to ignore the throbbing. The dryness in his mouth was overwhelming, making each breath he took burn. 

Until there was movement above him. Horrified, Klaus’ eyes shot up, the reality of being crushed flooding his mind. With cold dismay, he watched the slab above him shift, bits of rubble falling onto his face. He looked for Ben, a new wave of terror setting in when he couldn’t see him.

“Ben?” Klaus screamed. “BEN!”

He could have cried when Ben reappeared, a smile wide across his face.

“It’s them!” Ben cried. “Diego found them! They’re going to get you out.”

“Klaus!” Luther’s voice called down, light surrounding his bulky silhouette. Klaus could’ve sworn he looked like an angel.

“Is he okay?” Another voice rang out. 

_ “Is he okay? _ ” it repeated, more desperately. 

“Peachy.” Klaus called up as Diego came into view, unbridled relief taking over at the sight of him. “We’re just having a grand time down here.”

“Five’s coming to get you!” Luther said, taking over the conversation again.

There was a small pop and Five suddenly appeared right above him, his face contorting with annoyance as he shifted his body into a more comfortable position. 

“Grab my hand.” Five strained, reaching his hand down. Klaus grasped at it earnestly. The moment they locked together, Klaus felt weightless and before he could even process what was happening, he was above ground and surrounded by his siblings. 

Before Klaus had a chance to speak, Diego kneeled next to him and drew him into a deep hug, catching Klaus off guard and his body, bruised, broken, and aching, screamed in protest against his brother’s embrace, but Klaus didn’t say a word, instead leaning deeper into his hold, not realizing how desperately he needed it.

“Why didn’t you fucking answer me, you  _ asshole _ !” Diego choked, burying his face into Klaus’ shoulder. Klaus could feel his brother shaking violently, the adrenaline coursing through him. Klaus was certain he was doing the same. “Where do you get off, picking now of all times to be selfless all of a sudden?” 

Klaus whispered, completely overwhelmed, “I’m sorry.”

“Fucking sorry.” Diego breathed exasperatedly. “You try that crap again, and I’m going to kill you.”

Klaus smiled. “I don’t need to illustrate the irony of that, do I?” 

Neither of them said anything, both letting the moment sink in, embracing the relief that accompanied the humor, no matter how dark it was. Then Diego released his hold and held Klaus out in front of him, cataloging the extent of his injuries. When his eyes landed on Klaus’ ankle, they widened, but only slightly, Diego quickly regulating his emotions. Klaus cringed, following his gaze. He could definitely see bone.

Luther came forward. “Can you walk?”

Before Klaus had a chance to respond, Diego answered for him. “Obviously not.”

Klaus really didn’t want to ask, but he needed to know. Catching Diego’s gaze again, he took a deep breath.

“Did Mom…”

Diego slowly looked away. The turmoil hidden behind his eyes spoke volumes.

Klaus’ heart started pounding. “Pogo?”

Nothing.

Klaus throat constricted. “What about Vanya?” 

None of them would look at him.

“We need to get out of here.” Luther finally said gruffly, reaching down underneath Klaus. Weaving his arms underneath him, Luther lifted Klaus as if he weighed nothing, which Klaus was sure he did in Luther’s book. Typically, Klaus would have been utterly embarrassed by the bridal hold he now found himself in, and would’ve had something witty and clever to say about it, but just that movement alone reawakened searing pain throughout his body. Before he could stop it, the sudden movement made him cry out softly, and he wrapped his good arm around his ribs tightly.

“Be careful!” Diego yelled, bristling at the noise.

“He’s going to hurt no matter what.” Luther bit back, but Klaus could feel his brother’s hold loosening slightly.

Klaus didn’t know what was going to happen next. Their home was gone. Their family was shattered. And their hearts were broken. But as they slowly made their way through the shattered slabs of concrete and wood that used to make up the Academy, Klaus had to trust that they could fix this.

His body spent and his emotions drained, Klaus relaxed deeper into Luther’s hold, trusting his siblings to keep him safe.

**Author's Note:**

> I may someday create a second chapter for this fic, from Diego's perspective. It's a big "if," but I wanted you all to be aware!
> 
> I have an art Instagram, if you're interested in following me there! (noirwandererr)


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